SASAC head latest target in graft probe

Move 'reflects enhanced crackdown on corruption in monopoly sectors'

Authorities are investigating the head of the State assets regulator for "serious discipline violations", the top discipline watchdog said on Sunday.

Jiang Jiemin [Photo / people.com.cn]

Jiang Jiemin, chairman of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, or SASAC, is being probed for "grave discipline violations", a term that generally refers to corruption, according to a statement by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Communist Party of China's graft-fighting watchdog.

The duties of SASAC include supervising and managing State-owned assets, guiding and pushing forward the reform and restructuring of State-owned enterprises, and appointing and removing top executives of supervised enterprises, according to the SASAC website.

Experts said the recent concentrated probes on officials and executives related to the energy sector show the country's stepped-up crackdown on corruption in State-owned monopoly industries.

No details were given about the probe.

Jiang, born in October 1955, is the first member of the 18th CPC Central Committee to be investigated for corruption.

The committee, elected in November, has 205 members, including the seven members of the top ruling Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

Jiang is also the first chairman of SASAC to be investigated since it was established a decade ago. He was nominated as SASAC chairman in March after the annual session of the National People's Congress.

On Sunday, Jiang was still listed as chairman of SASAC on the commission's website. He is a senior economist, according to his introduction on the site.

His last official activity was listed as Aug 27, when he inspected the Aviation Industry Corp of China.

The publicity department of SASAC refused to comment on the issue when contacted by China Daily on Sunday.

Before being nominated as SASAC chairman, Jiang was chairman of the China National Petroleum Corp, the country's leading oil and gas producer.

A source close to CNPC said the investigation of Jiang is related to alleged graft when he was head of the company.

The source said that during Jiang's reign at CNPC, several oilfields with bad assets were contracted to foreign or private companies, which involved ill-gotten payouts.

"During that time, some officials at CNPC also were heads of some related private companies, which provided room for corruption," said the source.

Jiang worked in the petroleum industry from December 1972 to June 2000, and from April 2004 to March 2013. He was deputy governor of Qinghai province from June 2000 to April 2004.